College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 9 certainly delivered, from the furious Alabama comeback in Columbia to another statement win by Vanderbilt in Nashville and everything in between.
Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
1. We can now trust Vanderbilt to win big football games.
Last year, Diego Pavia and the Commodores played the role of David knocking out Goliath. Now, Vanderbilt is just a very good football team that can win important football games against other very good football teams. The ‘Dores hung in there against Alabama this year after beating the Tide a season ago; that’s their only loss so far this season. Vanderbilt soundly beat LSU a week ago and didn’t rush the field because it expected itself to win the game. And now, after hosting ESPN’s College Gameday for the first time in nearly two decades, Vanderbilt rose to the occasion again, handling the moment and beating Missouri, 17-10, in front of yet another sellout crowd. The Tigers lost starting quarterback Beau Pribula to an ankle injury in the third quarter but still nearly tied the game with a Hail Mary as time expired.
This was a hard-fought victory for Vanderbilt, which overcame a season-low offensive output and eight penalties to win this game. The Commodores of old would lose this game, but this is a new Vanderbilt with its sights on the College Football Playoff. And this team is off to the program’s best start since 1941 — and there’s nothing fluky about it.
Vanderbilt continues to look like legit contender
Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry discuss Vanderbilt’s win over Missouri and explain why the Commodores have all the makings of a College Football Playoff team.
2. Is Ole Miss now a lock for the College Football Playoff?
I … think so? This is a weird feeling! It’s late October, and this is a crazy, unpredictable sport, so you never know anything for certain. But after Saturday’s win over No. 13 Oklahoma, the Rebels are 7-1 with the lone loss coming on the road at Georgia. And here’s the remaining schedule for Lane Kiffin and co: home vs. South Carolina, home vs. The Citadel, home vs. Florida and at Mississippi State. None of the Rebels’ remaining games are against ranked teams — which is worth noting when most of the SEC is in the Top 25 right now. Not only could Ole Miss win out with its explosive offense leading the way, but it could also probably easily survive a second SEC loss and make the 12-team field.
I’ve got one piece of advice to Kiffin moving forward, though: Don’t inexplicably go for it on fourth down deep in your own territory again! And don’t take Trinidad Chambliss out of the game in the red zone! The football gods almost made you pay for those mistakes.
3. The ACC may give us the country’s most intriguing conference race.
Heading into the all-important month of November, the ACC has two teams with zero conference losses (Virginia and Georgia Tech). There are also five ACC teams with one league loss each (Miami, SMU, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Duke). That means a truly wide-open race with four weeks to go in the regular season, and it also means the league is far deeper than anyone expected back in August.
Clemson was the presumptive preseason pick to win the ACC, before the Tigers fell off the map quickly. Then, Florida State became a top contender after a dominant Week 1 win over Alabama … before the Seminoles collapsed (and stretched their ACC losing streak to nine games, dating back to last season.) Miami looked head and shoulders above the rest of the league until a four-interception day from Carson Beck made the ‘Canes look very beatable. Who predicted Virginia and Georgia Tech to be the only two teams to control their own paths to the ACC championship game as the calendar flips to November? I sure didn’t! And I don’t know that they will both win out — Virginia’s luck must run out at some point, right? — but both teams have surpassed their win totals from last season. So, either way, we’re talking about uncharted water, which is pretty cool.
Unpacking the ACC’s chaotic playoff picture
Joshua Perry and Nicole Auerbach dive into the College Football Playoff outlook for the ACC and the Group of Five conferences after yet another chaotic week.
4. Iowa might be sneaky good.
At the very least, these Hawkeyes can certainly put up points. They scored 41 (!) points against a Minnesota defense that ranks among the best in the Big Ten, two weeks after shutting out Wisconsin, 37-0. Those are two rivalry games that were noncompetitive because of Iowa’s improved offense. (Well, a pick-six and a punt return touchdown against the Gophers helped, too; as we know, Iowa is known for complementary football.)
The passing attack isn’t always super prolific, but quarterback Mark Gronowski is tough and can make plays with his legs. And, really, it’s all Iowa fans have been asking for over the past few years: An offense that can get to the end zone. The Hawkeyes are no longer among the lowest-scoring teams in the country — they’re in the top 50 of FBS in scoring offense! — and they played Indiana better than anyone else has this season. It’s time to put some respect on the Hawkeyes’ name, and it’s also time to circle that game against Oregon at Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 8. That one could have some massive stakes all of the sudden.
Iowa, Bernard lead top performances of Week 9
Nicole Auerbach explains why she was so impressed with Iowa after a dominant victory against Minnesota while Joshua Perry dives into Germie Bernard’s heroics to help Alabama come out on top vs. South Carolina.
5. The designated Group of 5 spot in the College Football Playoff is up for grabs.
The highest-ranked Group of 5 champion gets an automatic spot in the 12-team CFP. For the last few weeks, I’ve penciled South Florida into that spot due to the strength of their nonconference wins (at Florida and vs. Boise State, last year’s G5 CFP representative). But the American conference race was always going to be a challenge, and it was going to be hard for USF to try to make it through the conference season unscathed. The Bulls fell to Memphis (which got upset by UAB last week!) on Saturday, which now makes things messier. Tulane is unbeaten in American play, as is Navy. But Navy still has to play South Florida, Memphis and North Texas, and Tulane still has to play Memphis.
Could Boise State sneak back into the CFP picture? Or San Diego State, which is unbeaten in Mountain West play? Or James Madison, which hasn’t lost to any Sun Belt foes? Everything just got a whole lot more chaotic.
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